Badger Politics
by Eilan
Summary: A new Minister of Magic has to be elected and soon an ex-Hufflepuff finds herself in a world of intrigues, lies and blackmail. Nothing highly unusual in the world of politics except for the fact that the war against Voldemort is now over.
1. Chapter One: Proving Ground

* * *

**Title:** Badger Politics (01)  
**Author name:** Eilan  
**Author email:** Eilan84@gmx.de  
**Category:** General  
**Sub Category:** Romance  
**Rating:** R  
**Spoilers:** SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA  
**Summary:** A new Minister of Magic has to be elected and soon an ex-Hufflepuff finds herself in a world of intrigues, lies and blackmail. Nothing highly unusual in the world of politics except for the fact that the former Minister of Magic was Cornelius Fudge. The Wizarding World is now exposed to the Muggle World and the war against Voldemort has not even been over for two weeks. A tale of Rachel Scott, Percy Weasley and various shadow figures.  
**DISCLAIMER:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.   
**Author notes:** I think it's time for me to finally write an OC, to see if I can do it. And since there's a definite lack of: a) good Ocs, b) Wizarding Politics, c) Percy, and d) Hufflepuffs, in fanon, I'm going to try my best.   
Rated R for swearing and (later) sexual situations and violence.  
Now, please enjoy  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Badger Politics   
**by Eilan

**Chapter One: Proving Ground**

"I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in."   
George McGovern

_The dust has not yet settled, the fires have not yet ceased to burn, the graves have not yet been dug for all the victims._

_There are thousands of them. Wizards and Muggles died in this war alongside each other. Death made no difference between them and they are lying on the ground, eyes expressionless, as if there never was one._

_And was there really one?_

_After one year of war this question shouldn´t even be posed. Because in this war we fought on the same side and that´s what should never be forgotten. _

_Excerpt from an article in the Guardian   
12__th__ June, 2000   
Rachel Scott, Ministry of Magic,   
Department of Muggle/Wizard Cooperation_

**15****th**** June 2000**

The banners in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Magic were black in honour of the lives lost in the war against Voldemort. Posters also adorned the exterior of the building, for in three weeks, the new Minister of Magic would be elected. Rachel Scott thought it was good to know that the Ministry´s priorities were clear.

"Good morning, Miss Scott." 

"Good morning."

The so-called security at the main entrance of the Ministry nodded and let her through. They were used to her coming and going. There were Apparation barriers around the building and she often needed to Apparate in order to meet with her colleagues several times a day.

The main building of the Ministry of Magic stood not far from Diagon Alley and was actually not a building per se. It consisted of several buildings that could only be reached by going through the passage Rachel had just entered. It was an old place, built sometime in the twelfth century, and Diagon Alley had actually been built near it, not the other way around.

The outer walls that cut it off from the outside world were impressive. More than two metres high, they towered far above Rachel´s head. The stone they were built of was a bright white, magically prevented from ever greying.

During the Second World War, the strong wards around Diagon Alley and its surroundings had nearly been broken in one of the bombings, but fortunately they had remained standing, protecting the wizarding community from exposure.

Now, however, that all seemed far away, especially since the Muggle and the Wizarding world were no longer separated. 

And now it was Rachel´s duty to help co-ordinate the future co-operation between the two worlds.

Rachel liked her job, but - it had become overwhelming as of late. She had slept four hours the previous night, and now two hours of paperwork and three hours of conferences lay ahead of her. 

In other words, Rachel was not happy.

To reach her office she had to walk through the whole building. The first building she came across was the Department of Accidental Magic Reversal where she had worked in for the first few years after leaving Hogwarts. It had been a boring job as a pencil-pusher and she had been quite happy about losing it when the Ministry needed people for her current position. Next came the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures - the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, specifically - one of her former schoolmates now worked in. Finally, she reached her goal: the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

Rachel always wondered what drugs the person that had created those names had been on. 

The office she shared with one of her co-workers was situated on the first floor of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Department of Muggle/Wizard Co-operation division.

Rachel really hated the person that had thought of these names.

The wooden door on the end of the corridor gave way to her small office the moment she was five metres away from it. These kind of magical enchantments were present throughout the building, and only for her first few days had Rachel been amazed by them. Now she thought they were mostly annoying. A few months before, she had been sleeping on her desk after a particularly tiring day and only minutes later the door had opened to reveal her boss, who would´ve never caught her dozing if the door hadn´t opened automatically.

She dropped her bag on the floor without caring where it lay and without taking notice of her co-worker, who was already seated at one of the desks.

"Good morning to you, too, Rachel," Percy Weasley greeted her, barely looking up from whatever it was he was working on.

"Good? And why exactly would this particular morning be good?" Rachel replied, pouring herself some coffee. She hadn´t looked into the mirror this morning, but she could just imagine the dark rings under her eyes that would make it all too obvious that she had had too much work and not enough sleep in the past weeks.

But at least Percy didn´t look any better. And with his red hair and pale skin, the dark rings were even more obvious than they were against her spiky brown hair and normal-coloured complexion. 

"Because you look like you have at least had more than three hours of sleep." 

"I had four. I gather you have had less?" 

Percy was even more of a workaholic than she was and that was saying something. Judging from his answering smirk, she also was right and he had won their little less-sleep-than-thou contest.

"One would think you were a Slytherin, or at least a Ravenclaw, with such an attitude about what constitutes enough sleep." 

"Oh, and one could think you were a Gryffindor with such insensitivity and prejudice," Rachel snapped. Percy knew exactly what comments like that did to her and yet he still sometimes said them, not thinking. 

"Listen, Rachel, we both have work to do. I suggest we concentrate on that and not on your touchiness when it comes to being a Hufflepuff."

"That might be possible if you thought for one moment before saying something." Rachel was still angry, but she slowly calmed down. Percy at least didn´t do it on purpose. Most people, upon meeting her, were quite impressed to hear where she worked, despite her being only twenty-four. But as soon as she told them what Hogwarts House she had been in -- and if they hadn´t been Hufflepuffs themselves -- they looked at her as if they pitied her. Even Muggles did that these days. They had been informed about the Hogwarts Houses by their media and now thought that Gryffindors were nothing but brave, Slytherins nothing but evil, Ravenclaws nothing but studious and Hufflepuffs nothing but dumb. The only houses that had a positive reputation nowadays were Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

"I am truly sorry, Rachel. Would you please stop talking now and let me do my work? I need to get this done before the conference." Percy turned his full attention to his papers, and - after contemplating whether she should ask if he remembered that she too would be attending the conference and also had work to complete for it - Rachel did the same.

***

The conference began at exactly nine o´clock. By that time, Rachel was a nervous wreck. She hadn´t had the time to prepare herself properly, although she hadn´t even eaten a decent breakfast yet and had worked on materials for the conference for the past two days.

The topic of this conference was the opening of Diagon Alley to Muggles, and it had required extensive research and the consumption of much coffee on both sides.

Rachel, Percy and the Department Head, Marcus O´Reiley, represented the wizarding population while on the other side of the table Julia Kirnan represented the British Government, Steven Hudson represented the Muggle Civil Union that had been formed a few months before, and Owen Watts represented the London Association of Muggle Interests. There were a few other people present, but no one that in Rachel´s opinion was of great importance.

Normally, Rachel wouldn´t have been nervous before a conference, but that day she would be serving as chairman - or chairwoman - for the first time. If she screwed this up, it would not serve her well in the greater scheme of things.

The conference began with the usual introduction of all participants that Rachel didn´t really listen to. She was too busy sorting though her notes. Finally, she stood up.

"We have come here together today to discuss the following matter," she officially opened the meeting. "Regulation number 24 in the contract between the Department of Muggle/Wizard Relations and the British non-magical population: The Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley and its associated streets and businesses. The discussion will focus upon the question of whether access to The Leaky Cauldron, and therefore entrance to the Wizarding Part of central London, can and will be granted to the non-magical population. I hereby open the meeting. 

"The first point today will cover whether the requested access for the non-wizarding population can be granted with the use of magical means. Since the foremost representative of the Wizarding World, the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, is incapacitated due to his death and failure to become a Spirit, and as there is currently no one filling his position, Department Head Marcus O´Reiley will speak as his substitute. According to the Official Rules for Muggle-Wizarding Negotiations, Mr. O´ Reiley has the right to speak first."

Wizarding rhetorics were traditionally even more complicated than their Muggle counterparts, and Rachel thought she had done a good job of opening the meeting. At least she hadn´t stumbled over the words she had prepared. 

"Thank you, Miss Scott. The committee that has been founded for the task of finding ways to open The Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley and its associated streets and businesses, consisting of the two present Ministry employees Mister Percy Weasley and Miss Rachel Scott, has, I believe, come to a conclusion concerning their assigned task. I will therefore not keep them from presenting it to you."

Rachel looked at Percy, who nodded slightly before beginning to speak. Percy was by far her superior when it came to applied magic. She had never been good at Charms and such subjects, only at the more theoretical subjects. Percy had, as far as she knew, excelled at every subject there was.

The first point of conference went over smoothly. Percy and Rachel explained the charms protecting the Leaky Cauldron from being detected by anyone who wasn´t a Wizard or a Squib, and presented a solution to this problem: a guarded entrance from one of the other sides of Diagon Alley. Now that the war was over, very few Aurors were left and the ones that were still capable of following their duties were busy tracking leads on the identity of Death Eaters and collecting evidence for their crimes so they could be punished.

However, there were enough young wizards and Squibs that, if paid well, could check the identities of all Muggles that wanted entrance to Diagon Alley. Rachel pointed out that there would have to be hard restrictions on who could enter Diagon Alley and who couldn´t. Diagon Alley was, after all, not meant to be a tourist centre.

It was just when they came to point two of the matter that everything went downhill.

Point two dealt with Knockturn Alley and was the point Rachel had prepared herself to answer for with her research. Some of the research had taken place in Knockturn Alley itself, and it had not been something she had particularly enjoyed.

She had prepared her words so that there would be no delay in the conference.

"The entrance to Knockturn Alley will therefore also be guarded by personnel advised not to allow access to any non-magical people," Rachel concluded after a few minutes.

Dead silence filled the room for a few seconds, before Steven Hudson began to speak.

"That is unacceptable." 

Rachel later reflected on how amazing it was that three words could ruin her entire day and maybe even her whole career. Of course the words 'I love you´, uttered by a Hufflepuff in her fourth year at Hogwarts, had ruined her otherwise good opinion of boys for the following year; but her career was, after all, far more important than her love life.

***

Thirty minutes after the conference ended, Rachel sat in her office, on the verge of tears and already drinking her third cup of the calming tea Percy had prepared for her. Unfortunately for Percy, it didn´t really calm her down.

"Why the hell did they do that?" She nearly shouted at him and, as he had the previous three times, Percy winced. She wasn´t normally that loud and upset - except for when it came to being a Hufflepuff - and she actually felt sorry for Percy for being stuck with her, but that didn´t stop her from taking her rage out on him.

"Rachel, they did have a point..." For the third time, Percy tried to interrupt her tirade. Without success.

"They didn´t have one. What the hell would they do in Knockturn Alley? It´s fucking dangerous there! They didn´t even _listen_ to me when I explained my point. What is the point in negotiations when you don´t negotiate?"

"Normally, negotiations include both sides exchanging arguments..."

"This was not a goddamned normal conference! Knockturn Alley is dangerous, and they should´ve left it at that. Damn the Muggles."

"And your father?"

"My father has a lot more sense than the three so called 'representatives´ put together. 'We won´t accept being excluded from a mere street´, my foot. Knockturn Alley is not a mere street. Why can´t they accept that there are things they just don´t want to see?"

"Maybe because we have been keeping secrets from them for the past thousand years?" Percy suggested calmly. 

Rachel stared at him. How dare he have a valid point when she was furious? She sighed. The problem was that he was right and that she was just as guilty of the rather abrupt end of the conference as the Muggles were. After all, she had been the one who had refused to allow the Muggle delegation to visit Knockturn Alley, and she also had to admit that she had been the first to raise her voice.

"Okay, so I screwed up. Happy now?" Rachel took one more sip of her tea, decided that it did her no good and had no taste anyway, then shoved it aside. Her left foot began to twitch, a habit she had picked up years ago. In boring conferences, the only parts of your body you could move to relieve tension were your feet, and whenever Rachel wanted nothing more than to punch her opponent - a desire which occurred to her pretty often, but for obvious reasons was not an option - she resorted to lightly tapping her feet until the other person began to get nervous. It was one of the weapons that had brought her into one of the most important committees there was at the moment.

"No, not happy. Contrary to your usual opinion, I am not happy to see you, as you call it, 'screw up´."

"Oh, come on, Percy. Twenty years from now it could be between you and me for Minister of Magic. You had better stab me in the back now." In spite of herself, Rachel had to smile slightly.

"Who told you I want to be Minister of Magic?"

"It´s obvious. No one would do that much work without wanting to climb the ladder to the top."

"You shouldn´t assume that everyone thinks like you do. I have, as of yet, no intention to become Minister of Magic."

"What? You really don´t? Then why are you here? Is it 'I think my work is important and I´m doing this for the good of society´? Please, that´s the line for Hufflepuff use." Whilst she didn´t like other people attacking Hufflepuffs, Rachel had no scruples about doing so herself. She had earned the right to.

"You know, Rachel, I think I´ll leave you to insult someone else´s intentions now. Good day." Percy was out of the door before she could even think of a reply.

Rachel felt like crying. She was usually a pretty introverted person, but as soon as she began to feel the slightest bit comfortable around someone, there was a ninety percent chance that during an attempt at friendly banter she would manage to insult them. She and Percy had accidentally been through this a few times before, and each time it happened it became more difficult to rebuild an atmosphere in which they could at least do their work.

Sometimes Rachel wondered how she had ended up in Hufflepuff. Sure, she could work very hard when she saw a reason to do so, and she was also pretty loyal. Her time in Hufflepuff had been very nice, since the other Hufflepuffs managed to make up for her lack of social skills, but still... she sometimes felt as if the Sorting Hat had just put her into Hufflepuff because she didn´t fit anywhere else. Not studious enough to be in Ravenclaw, nor brave enough to be in Gryffindor, not cunning enough for Slytherin. 

Someone knocked on her door and in a flash of optimism, Rachel thought it might be Percy. But then she reminded herself of the fact that if that were the case, the door would´ve opened already to let him in. 

"Yes," she called and the door opened to reveal a young woman who looked like she was barely out of school. Rachel had never seen her before, and even if she had, she was sure she wouldn´t have remembered. 

"Miss Scott?" The girl was breathing heavily, as if she had just ran through the whole building.

"That´s me."

"Marcus O´Reiley has just been found dead, Miss Scott."

Rachel stared at her in shock. Apart from being the Head of her department, Marcus O´Reiley had also been her mentor. 

And the most popular candidate for the position as the next Minister of Magic.

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter Two: Family

* * *

**Title:** Badger Politics (02)  
**Author name:** Eilan  
**Author email:** Eilan84@gmx.de  
**Category:** General  
**Sub Category:** Romance  
**Rating:** R  
**Spoilers:** SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA  
**Summary:** A new Minister of Magic has to be elected and soon an ex-Hufflepuff finds herself in a world of intrigues, lies and blackmail. Nothing highly unusual in the world of politics except for the fact that the former Minister of Magic was Cornelius Fudge. The Wizarding World is now exposed to the Muggle World and the war against Voldemort has not even been over for two weeks. A tale of Rachel Scott, Percy Weasley and various shadow figures.  
**DISCLAIMER:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.   
**Author notes:** Thanks to Miranda Vine and Starshade for beta-reading, and to Oktober_Ghost for suggestions.  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Badger Politics   
by Eilan

Chapter Two: Family

"Don't try to be a great man, just be a man.   
Let history make its own judgments."   
Cochrane

Rachel swallowed several times. She had just arrived at the `scene of the crime´ and the view in front of her was something she was sure she would never forget.

They were in a small alley near the back of the Ministry building. The walls that framed the alley had once been snow white; now they were covered with red patches of blood. The alley smelled of it, and Rachel had the sudden urge to vomit.

People stood around Rachel, talking, but she didn´t hear them. Everything faded into the background except for the body in front of her. The once tall and lean man now lay on the ground with his hands covering his stomach. His legs were twisted as if he had made a desperate attempt to stay upright while already falling down. His head had rolled to his left side and his eyes were open, staring at the nothingness where his murderer had been.

The most obvious element of the crime scene, however, was the weapon with which he had been killed. The knife that had taken his life still stood out from his ribs, the blood pooled around it forming a sharp contrast to the white and light grey robes the victim wore.

Someone pushed Rachel out of the way from behind. Judging from their clothing and the way they behaved, the new arrivals were Aurors. They immediately began to scan the area with their wands.

Someone grabbed her shoulder and Rachel was jerked roughly from her trance.

"What the-"

"Shhh, it´s just me, Percy." Percy took his hand off her shoulder and looked around. He swallowed like she had and closed his eyes for a brief second, but then he pulled himself together.

"We should go. Let the Aurors do their work," he suggested, already turning away.

"Okay." Rachel let herself be guided away from the little crowd that had by now gathered in the alley. Someone collided with her, nearly knocking her over, but it took her only a few seconds to regain her balance. Quickly, she followed Percy.

***

Rachel had never been to Percy´s flat before, but it looked very similar to how she had imagined it. It was neither big nor small from what she could see. He led her into the living-room, which was clean and well-lighted, with several bookcases lining the light green walls. The shade immediately comforted Rachel a bit, as coincidentally, her parents house was painted in exactly the same shade.

Rachel absently ran a hand through her hair, only making it messier than it already was.

Percy motioned for her to sit in one of the chairs and, too tired to disobey, she did so. He then excused himself and disappeared through a door to Rachel´s left. He was back in less than thirty seconds. With a mumbled "Just transfigured it," Percy handed Rachel a cup of coffee.

The warmth of the mug in her hand brought Rachel back to reality. She found herself clutching it desperately, nearly burning her fingers in the process.

"Oh my God," was all that she could manage before words failed her again. She didn´t cry. She had never been the kind of person who cried easily, especially in front of other people, yet she sobbed then, violently.

After a few seconds, she felt a hand on her shoulder and another gently taking the coffee cup from her hands. Her sobs became more violent and, as the first tears began to fall, she found herself engaged in a hug. Why did this have to happen? Why now?

Percy´s embrace was comforting and, after a while, Rachel´s sobs subsided. They stayed in the embrace for a few seconds, but then Percy shifted a bit and Rachel broke free of his grasp.

"Thanks," she whispered. She wiped an arm across her eyes. "God, I must look like hell." She laughed, but the laugh broke after a few moments and would have turned into sobs again had it not been for Percy watching her.

"Only a bit."

"Only a _bit_ like hell? Now that´s an improvement."

"You can use the bath if you want to. It´s behind the first door on the right side of the hall." Percy pointed in its direction.

"That would be nice, thank you."

Rachel stood up and followed his directions. The first sight that met her when she entered the bathroom was the mirror. She was definitely not prepared for the sight reflected there. Her hair stood up in all directions, and the rings beneath her bloodshot brown eyes were even more apparent from all her tears. Mascara was smeared across her skin.

Not daring to look at herself for more than a second, Rachel quickly averted her eyes and turned on the water. She put her whole head under the cold stream for a moment, just to clear her mind.

***

Her wet hair wrapped in a towel, Rachel returned to the living-room.

"I´m sorry I reacted like that," she told Percy, who was sitting in the chair next to the one she had chosen earlier.

Percy took off his glasses and began to clean them with his shirt. "No need to feel sorry. Brought up old memories, I guess."

Rachel just nodded. The blood, the smell of death... Yes, it had indeed brought up old memories.

She looked out of the window at the busy street in front of the building. People were hurrying about their business as if nothing had just happened. Of course the incident would be in the news this evening, but for now they were all blissfully oblivious to what had happened. Rachel gathered her last bit of courage. "Em, about before... Percy, I´m sorry. I was being an idiot. Again."

"No need to feel sorry," Percy repeated. "We were both upset. This conference meant much to us both."

Rachel turned and looked at him. "It did. And I still can´t comprehend who would," she swallowed, "kill Marcus."

Percy shrugged. "Many people might have. There are those who don´t like him cooperating with the Muggle governments. If he´d have become Minister, it certainly wouldn´t have been in their best interests. And there are those who just plain disliked him."

"You didn´t like him, did you?" Rachel asked. It struck here as odd to be talking about Marcus in the past tense.

"He was a good politician, I don´t doubt that. But yes, I didn´t like him too much. I think he lacked integrity."

Rachel nodded. Percy was right, in some way. Integrity was something Percy valued very much. Rachel had always cared more about personality.

"Well, as long as you weren´t the one that-"

"Me? No, I was still in the building when the news reached us," Percy said indignantly.

"I was joking."

"Oh."

"But who could have killed him there? With a knife, no less," Rachel murmured, deep in thought.

"Well, Muggles are not allowed into Diagon Alley, so some wizard wanted to make it look as if a Muggle had done it," Percy added, already one step ahead of her.

"Yes, but still, why use a knife? Of course they were trying to make it look like a Muggle was capable of having done it, but some kind of spell or a gun would have been far more secure. A knife is not a very subtle weapon." Rachel took the towel off her head and used her fingers to comb through her hair.

"We shouldn´t worry about that, Rachel. The Aurors surely have the situation under control."

"Yes," Rachel sighed. "At least I hope so."

***

The ringing of the phone woke Rachel from her restless sleep. With a groan she sat up to look at the clock by her bed, but it wasn´t there. Then she remembered: She had obviously fallen asleep on Percy´s couch. It was not quite dark yet, and there was no sign of Percy anywhere near.

Still half asleep, Rachel stumbled in the general direction of the rings that had dared to wake her. On the way, she passed a small clock; it was nearly eight p.m.

"Rachel Scott."

"Oh, I´m sorry; I must´ve dialled the wrong number. I wanted to talk to Percy Weasley..." a woman stammered.

Hastily, Rachel answered. "Actually, you have dialled the right number, Mrs.?"

"Weasley."

"Oh, so you´re Percy´s mother? I´m Percy´s co-worker at the Ministry and it seems that I have fallen asleep on the couch this afternoon after talking to him."

"Oh, well then... But he is alright, isn´t he? I just heard about the murder and I was worried about him." Mrs. Weasley sounded anxious and Rachel could just imagine what she was going through. She made a mental note to call her father.

"Yes, yes, he´s alright. He´s probably just gone out to buy something to eat, I don´t know. But he´s most definitely alright," Rachel answered.

"Thank you, my dear. Will you tell him to call me when he´s back?"

"Of course I will. Bye."

"Bye."

Rachel hung up the phone. So that had been Percy´s mother? She sounded much friendlier than Percy.

Then it hit her: Had she just told Mrs. Weasley that she had been sleeping in her son´s flat? And had she responded, `Oh, well then...´? Rachel could imagine what Mrs. Weasley had to be thinking at the moment, and she groaned. The last thing she needed was someone thinking of her as a future daughter-in-law.

Still, it somehow made her smile. Percy´s next conversation with his mother would surely be an... interesting one.

"Hi."

Rachel spun around. She had not been expecting someone to sneak up on her; fortunately, it was just Percy.

Who else would it be, girl, a little voice in her head whispered, but Rachel chose to ignore it.

"Hi, Percy."

"I´m sorry, did I startle you?"

"No, you didn´t," Rachel answered, looking away from him.

Percy only nodded. He held a small bag in his left hand and the key to the door of his flat in his right.

"Where were you?" Rachel asked bluntly, realising too late that she sounded like a nagging wife. Her previous thoughts seemed to have had an unconscious impact on her that she didn´t even want to consider.

"I was getting us something to eat. You fell asleep and I didn´t want to wake you." Percy explained. He placed the bag on the table in front of him and unpacked it. He had bought two small pizzas.

"Oh, your mother called. She wanted to make sure that you were fine," Rachel informed him.

"When did she call?"

"Just a few minutes ago."

"Then I´ll call her. The pizzas should stay warm that long." Percy picked up the phone and began to dial.

Rachel, meanwhile, decided that she could make herself at home a bit and turned on the small TV that stood in one corner of the room. Muggle television sets and stereos were by now standard equipment in nearly every wizard flat.

"The murder of the wizard Marcus O´Reiley shocked the country today. He was found in a small alley inside of the Wizard district of London, stabbed with a knife. So far the investigating Aurors have named no suspects, but have refused to allow the London Police to investigate the case. In making the decision, the Aurors referred to the negotiations this morning concerning the issue of granting non-wizards access to Diagon Alley which ended in a stalemate.

Marcus O´Reiley has been one of three candidates for the new Minister of Magic of Great Britain, replacing the late Cornelius Fudge. Because of his death, the election has been postponed until the 17th of June."

So the Muggles were already discussing both: the assassination and the conference.

"Do you want Pizza Tonno or Pizza Quattro Staggioni?" Percy had obviously ended his phone call.

"Tonno sounds great. Em, would you mind if I used your phone? I left my mobile in the office and I´d like to call my father."

"No problem."

"Thanks."

While Percy went to get some plates, Rachel picked up the phone and dialled her father´s number. He lived on the outskirts of London, so the call would not cost Percy too much.

"Kevin Scott." Her father answered the phone after only a few seconds.

"Hi Dad. It´s me, Rachel."

"Rachel? Where have you been? I tried to call you about a hundred times! I was so worried."

Rachel sighed inwardly. Since her mother´s death when Rachel had been thirteen, he had fussed over her at every opportunity.

"I´m sorry, I left my mobile in my office when I heard about the... incident, and I haven´t been home since." Rachel was vaguely aware of Percy coming back into the room.

"Where are you?" her father asked.

"At a friend´s."

"Do you want to come home tonight? You know there´s always a place here for you." Kevin Scott´s voice practically begged her to come over, and Rachel felt sorry for having to refuse.

"I can´t, I´ve got things to do. The Ministry surely needs every helping hand at the moment. Maybe I can come over next week, okay?"

Her father sighed. "Okay. Take care of yourself, will you?"

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

Rachel stared at the receiver for a few seconds, than laid it down. She and Percy had to go back to the Ministry after dinner, she decided. There was a lot that needed to be done and she wanted to help. Personal grief was not something that the Ministry understood or granted time for.

"So, what exactly did you tell my mother?" Percy asked neutrally. He had by now put the pizzas on plates and arranged everything for a quick dinner. All in all, it looked a lot more inviting than the meals Rachel prepared in her flat. She wasn´t one for nice, long dinners. Eating was a necessity which took precious time.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Sit down, please. I asked you what you told my mother."

Rachel sat down and wrinkled her nose. Why was he asking? "I told her you were okay." She began to eat.

"Well, she seems to be under the assumption that you are my girlfriend and she told me that she would be happy to meet you soon."

Rachel nearly choked on her first bite. She had known Mrs Weasley had misunderstood her, but that she had told Percy she wanted to meet his `girlfriend´...

"Oops..."

"Indeed. So, what did you tell her?" Percy still didn´t show any sign of emotion.

"I told her I had fallen asleep on the couch," Rachel answered. Percy briefly closed his eyes. "Hey, I was just telling the truth," she added

Percy took another bite and swallowed it before answering. "Why did you decide that during a phone call from my mother was the best time to start telling the truth?"

"Wait, I´m not a liar," she defended herself.

Percy only smirked a bit. "You work at the Ministry."

"As do you. We just bend the truth, we don´t lie." Rachel was by now nearly finished with her pizza, whereas Percy hadn´t even finished half of it. She found herself wondering if he was a particularly slow eater or she a very fast one. Then she wondered if it even mattered.

Percy only shook his head slightly and the rest of the dinner passed in silence.

***

The walls of the main Ministry building were lit with magic, causing them to appear] slightly green. It was an odd sight for people who saw it for the first time, but not for Rachel. She didn´t visit the main building frequently, but she had been there often enough for important debates to become immune to its appearance.

With fast steps, she nearly ran into the building. There had been no more information on the investigation in the Muggle news, and the Wizarding Wireless Network was useless as ever.

Rachel could sense more than see Percy following behind her as she took two steps at a time on the stairs leading to the entrance. As always, she was stopped at the door.

"Name?" the guard asked. He was a middle-aged man with very short brown hair and Rachel smiled at him.

"Rachel Scott, and that´s Percy Weasley. We work at the Department of Muggle/Wizard Cooperation."

"Could I see your identification card?"

"Yes, one moment." Rachel searched through her pockets. Percy had already found his card and showed it to the guard. Finally, Rachel too, found what she was looking for in the back pocket of her jeans.

"Here."

"Good, you can go inside. But be careful - there´s a hell of a lot of chaos going on in there," the man informed them.

In the main hall, Rachel could immediately see what the guard had meant. Normally at that time of the evening, only a few workers were left in the building. But now the hall was full of people, all chatting with at least three others at once, or so it seemed.

After a few seconds of total disorientation, Rachel spotted a familiar face a few metres away. "Mark, hello!"

The short, balding man turned and saw her. He motioned for her and Percy to come over, but didn´t seem very happy. It took Rachel and Percy quite a bit of time to get through the crowd, but eventually they managed it.

"Hi Rachel." He hugged her, and then offered his hand to Percy. "Percy, it´s good to see you."

"Likewise, Mister Lewis."

"You can call me Mark." Mark smiled, but it was a weak expression. "So, anyway, where were you two? We tried to call you."

"You tried to call us?" Percy asked. "Sorry, we didn´t know that. We were at my flat and, well..." Percy trailed off, obviously not knowing what to say.

"We´ve had so little sleep during the last days that we fell asleep until the phone rang," Rachel continued. On their way to the Ministry, Percy had told her that he had also fallen asleep, but on one of the chairs. Rachel guessed that was why he was rubbing his neck constantly.

"Okay, but still, we could have used you here. Your whole Department is going crazy, as is the media and the rest of the Ministry. We have a serious situation on our hands."

"We noticed. I saw his corpse, thank you very much," Rachel snapped. Politicians really did have a talent for stating the obvious.

"I´m not only talking about Marcus, Rachel. I´m more worried about the reaction of the Muggles. They have idealised and trusted Marcus because he was our main negotiator with them. Now that he´s not here..."

"You fear that there are going to be problems?" Percy seemed surprised.

"No, we don´t fear it. We know it," Mark replied.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Surely the situation is not that grave?"

"Percy, how many Muggles do you know personally?" Rachel, despite having a Muggle father, was on Mark´s side in this matter.

Percy lowered his eyes. It was reply enough for Rachel.

"Exactly," she said. "Do you remember how they reacted when we exposed ourselves to them? People are reasonable, but not if they are confronted with something they don´t understand."

"Still, our first priority should be catching the murderer," Percy changed the topic.

"The Aurors and the Magical Law Enforcement Squad are taking care of that. They may not be as many in number as they once were, but they know how to handle the situation," Mark reassured them. His hands were always restless while speaking. At that moment, however, Rachel noticed their total lack of movement.

Maybe he was afraid. And maybe he was not as confident as he wanted to seem.

Mark cleared his throat. "The Department Heads are having a meeting right now upstairs and I daresay you can join it if you want to. Lydia Miller is representing your department right now, but I think she will be happy to find a reason to stay away from further discussions."

Lydia was a very nice woman in her forties - too nice to work in the Ministry, as far as Rachel was concerned. It was no place for someone so gentle and shy.

"Percy?" Rachel asked, checking if they would be attending.

"I think she needs a rescuer. And who else to save her than our resident do-gooder."

Rachel nearly choked. "Was that sarcasm I heard there?"

"Not intentionally."

How Percy managed to keep a straight face saying this, Rachel didn´t know.

***

Ten minutes and various checkpoints later, they stood in front of a massive wooden door. Rachel could practically feel the charms that lay upon it, as well as the importance of the room behind it. This was the Ministry´s central conference room, where the Minister and the emergency staff traditionally met. This was also where new ministers were officially given their position and where crucial treaties were signed. In fact, Rachel remembered that the very first Muggle-Wizard treaty had been signed in that room.

Percy, who stood in front of her, knocked curtly and then entered the room. It was huge, with wooden walls adorned with paintings of the most important events and individuals in wizarding history. Rachel could see portraits of the four Hogwarts founders, and of Barberus Bragge, Chief of the first Wizarding Council, among others. The first Triwizard champion, whose name she couldn´t remember, smiled proudly from one, while in another Nicholas Flamel stood alongside his wife, Perenelle. In another large painting, Merlin was shown holding Excalibur. They all looked at Rachel as she entered the room behind Percy, which had fallen silent.

There were only about twenty people in the room, which was intended for about one hundred. With only one fifth of the seats taken, the room looked even more impressive than it would have had it been full.

"Mister Weasley and Miss Scott, I believe?" someone addressed them, before she had the chance to see who exactly was present. The person speaking, however was, as Rachel recognised, was Paul McEwan, one of the other applicants for the Minister of Magic position. He was a tall, raven-haired man in his late sixties.

"Yes, sir," Percy replied. "We are here to..."

He was cut off. "Just sit down; we´re in the middle of an important conference."

Quietly Rachel and Percy obeyed.

_To be continued..._

End Note: I know, a bad place to cut off a chapter, but I am ill, so bear with me.

Also, I´m bad when it comes to names, so if you would like to have a `guest appearance´ with your first/last name in this fic, just include it in your review. Sadly enough, I can´t guarantee your character is going to be one of the good guys.


End file.
